Rainy Days

Things have been very quiet in our household lately.  Apart from the fact that I have been recovering from a really bad cold (which I'm glad to say is almost completely gone) it has been raining basically non stop for the last week or so which means that we have been stuck inside most of the time.  This isn't all bad because it means that I have been able to rest a lot which is just what I need these days (I am 39 weeks pregnant this week and feeling every bit of it too).

We've been doing lots of baking, playing games, reading, colouring and there has been lots of lounging around on the couch in our pj's watching television and snuggling.  It's been so nice to have this quiet time with Ella before the new baby arrives.

I have to say that I am very much over the rain and cold though.  I don't do winter very well and I am already dreaming of sunshine and short sleeves again.

Tim and I celebrated ten years of being together not so long ago (oh how young we look in the pic above!).  That milestone, coupled with the fact that we felt like it might be the last time we would have some quality time together for some time, called for a date day (my first outing in over a week!).

Nanna kindly looked after Ella while we set off for a nice lunch at an Italian restaurant where I ate what was quite possibly the best garlic pizza I've ever tasted, followed by a movie.  We very rarely go to the movies but for Christmas we received some Gold Class tickets which had been gathering dust so we decided to use them otherwise they would have just expired (and those things aren't cheap!).

During lunch we reminiced about the days when we were free to do whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted since we had no real responsibilities.  We talked about our first date which coincidently was dinner and a movie, how Tim ate lasagne and I ate a burger and then we sat in the cinema holding hands watching the Matrix.  Ten years later, a few more wrinkles and both now with more grey hairs than we'd like, I can happily say that I am still not sick of looking into those blue eyes of Tim's.

We saw World War Z in 3D which wasn't too bad for a zombie movie, ate chocolate sundaes and churros and laughed when we reclined our big leather chairs which made farting noises, just like we would have if we were 23 again.

Despite the fact that we say we wish we could be as carefree as we were when we were younger, our conversation always led back to Ella and the new arrival we are expecting and we wouldn't wish for anything different.  Sleepless nights included, because in the morning we always get to wake up to that beautiful smile and cheeky little girl who is the sunshine of our lives.

PS she has worn those 3D glasses that we got at the movies since we brought them home.  Five days and counting.

A very uneventful week

Last time I posted I was starting to come down with a bug and unfortunately it got worse.  I spent most of saturday in bed (which I never do) and didn't even venture out of the house once.  Sunday was pretty much the same.  The rest of the week until now has been very uneventful too - I've been keeping a very low profile.  Resting as much as possible.

Having the flu is bad at the best of times, but when you are only two weeks away from giving birth it feels like I've been hit by a tonne of bricks.  I haven't been this sick in a long time and I'm still not 100%, but definitely on my way to getting back to my normal self.

The only thing I could think about when I was at my lowest was that I really didn't want to go into labour feeling like this.  So far I haven't had any more niggling pains or anything to suggest that labour may happen any time soon.  A few weeks ago I was adamant that I felt like the baby was going to come early, but now I think I am in for the long haul and that I'll go over just like I did with Ella.  As long as I have time to recover fully before baby comes I'll be happy though.

The worst thing about being sick when pregnant is that you can't take any good drugs!  Give me pseudo-ephedrine any day if I have the flu under normal circumstances.  Panadol is just not cutting it.

Speaking of drugs, my obstetrician goes on holidays next tuesday so my next appointment is with his partner (who is a very reputable obstetrician also) and I am actually a little bit nervous now as I've heard that he is quite anti epidural.  I tried to go natural with Ella but it didn't happen and I opted to have an epidural which I definitely don't regret, and this time around I certainly don't want to be made to feel bad for choosing this option if indeed I do.

My saving grace this week has been my little BFF.  She's been such a good girl even though most of the time we've been stuck inside at home.  Her smile melts my heart and lifts my spirits and her singing and rambling chatter keeps me entertained to no end.

Gosh I love her.

Maternity Leave

Yesterday was officially my last day of work for a year as I go on maternity leave.  Yesterday I was over the moon but this morning I have woken up with a sore throat and runny nose and my little sidekick has also got a cold.  I feel like a train has hit me, Ella however seems to be in better spirits thankfully and is giving me a bit of a break.

It's not even 8.30am yet and this is what I am faced with:

A dog who has pulled apart  his bed in the middle of the night.  There is fluff all over the lounge room!

A very messy house.  Books and paperwork strewn everywhere!

A kitchen that looks like a bomb hit it

Toast for breakfast that I actually had to pick tiny bits of mould off because I haven't had a chance to go to the shops

Washing up galore complete with dead flowers to be disposed of

Swollen feet and I haven't even been on them for an hour!

All of a sudden going to work seems like such an easier option.  I am not going to be hard on myself today though.  This stuff can wait because quite frankly I can't be bothered.  Right now a cup of tea is my only saving grace and in all likelihood it will probably go cold before I even get to touch it.  I am just hanging out for 12.30pm when Ella has her nap so I can go back to bed myself!  And I pray to God that she sleeps for at least 2 hours!

37 Weeks Pregnant

My appointment with the obstetrician this week was pretty much just the same as usual.  Everything seems to be coming along nicely.  Baby is in position and could come at any minute.  At my last visit the obstetrician mentioned that he may induce me, however we've decided against this now and will just play the waiting game.  The main reason this was suggested originally was because the baby had had two major growth spurts over two weeks and the doc was worried that if he continued to grow so rapidly it may have been hard for me to deliver, which could be particularly dangerous when I have a lot of scarring on my uterus from previous fibroid removal surgery.

This week though, bub had slowed down in terms of growth so he felt that there was no need to take matters into our own hands and that we would just wait for bubs to take the lead.  I have to admit I was a little excited when he first mentioned induction because I am at the point now where I just want it all to happen, but at the same time I was having second thoughts and strongly believed that we should just wait for things to happen naturally, even if that means that my obstetrician may not be there to deliver the baby himself since he is due to go on leave when the baby is due.

I had to do the standard 37 week Strep test which was interesting considering I had a toddler in tow.  I'm sure that when I had the test when pregnant with Ella the obstetrician actually performed it but this time he handed me a little kit and a discreet bag, explaining that I simply needed to go to the bathroom, pop the top off the test tube, remove the cotton bud looking device and take a swab from the "lower vagina".  I was a little surprised that it was considered a lower vaginal test considering the length of the thing!  I am carrying so low at the moment and feel so much pressure between my legs that sometimes it feels like the baby is literally so close to just falling out, so I was sure that inserting that thing was going to poke the babies eyes out or something!

Off I waddled to the bathroom with Ella and my discreet little bag (that really wasn't very discreet).  We entered a cubicle and I had a job trying to get Ella not to put her hands into the toilet bowl or touch anything else while I had my pants around my ankles, trying to do the test.  "What are you doing mama?" she chirped whilst simultaneously unlocking the door so it swung open.  Thank God nobody else was in the bathroom otherwise they would have received a nasty shock!  I don't think she was too scarred by the experience because she immediately just went on singing Incy Wincy Spider as if it was all completely normal.

***

On friday night Tim went out for drinks with a work mate who had been made redundant during the week.  I knew he would be having a few drinks but was hoping that he would be home just after dinner - at least that's the impression he gave me.  However, dinner time came and went and there was no sign of him so I knew he must have been having a bit of a big night.

I went to bed late (9.30pm is considered late for me right now!!) and after a little while laying there I started feeling dull aches and cramps and could feel the beginning of contractions.  I lay there for a while and the pain didn't ease and I quietly panicked.  If I went into labor, what would I do?  My mum and dad were away for the long weekend so couldn't take care of Ella if I had to go to hospital which means that I would have to ring Tim's parents in the middle of the night to get them to come over and then I'd have to drive myself to the hospital since Tim most likely wouldn't be able to drive because he would have been over the limit.  As I lay there in the foetal position myself trying to ease the cramping and aching it all suddenly seemed so real...and I did not feel ready at all!

Tim eventually came home and I fell asleep as the cramping eased and I was able to rest.  The following morning I decided that it was definitely time to get my butt into gear.  I packed my hospital bag and tidied myself up - I have to admit that I had let myself go in terms of grooming since it's been so cold and my legs haven't seen the light of day in quite some time.  Two razor blades and a full tank of hot water later, my legs and armpits were clean shaven and I had managed to hack at my bikini line to make it look a little more respectable as well - it's incredibly hard to maintain anything going on down there with a massive belly in the way.  Although nothing progressed in terms of labor, at least Tim can't call me a wookie any more!

I can't say that I really feel any more ready now than I did on friday.  Every night since then I have had the same cramping/achey sensations but so far it hasn't turned into anything.  Ready or not though, this baby is coming.

Chocolate Buttermilk Cake with Vanilla Butter Cream Icing & Salted Caramel Sauce

Have I mentioned that I love my new kitchen?  Well... I do!  I decided to give the oven a workout over the long weekend because I have so missed being able to bake, not having a functional oven in months.  I'm sure it also has something to do with the fact that I am a crazy hungry pregnant woman who is craving sweet like nothing else as well.

I saw a recipe for a delicious looking chocolate cake with a twist on the Raspberri Cupcakes blog which I just couldn't resist.  Although the earl grey icing didn't really appeal to me the cake and the salted caramel sauce was just calling my name.

It's a relatively easy recipe to follow.  Instead of the earl grey icing I just used a standard buttercream icing recipe that I always use (I don't even measure it these days) with some vanilla bean paste for extra flavour.  

I then made the salted caramel sauce to drizzle on top and it is to die for.  The recipe on Raspberri Cupcakes says to only make half the quantity for the cake (which would be more then enough) but I didn't halve it and subsequently have bottles of it left over in my fridge.  Lucky it tastes delicious!  It's just like liquid Coloumbine lollies (an old time favourite of mine).  We've been having left over caramel on just about everything - fruit, ice cream, I even made hot milk with a spoonful in.  It's really that good...

The cake was absolutely delicious and nice and moist. The icing and the caramel sauce made it even better.  We took it to Tim's family's house for lunch on saturday and the whole thing almost went in one go!  Definitely a recipe to keep.

Getting my bake on!

Our kitchen was always a little sad and sorry looking.  When we first bought the house we said that we would definitely need to get a new kitchen.  There was so little cupboard space for storage, hardly any bench space and the oven and cook top had seen much better days.  We got by though for over two years, until the oven door basically fell off a few months ago and then we decided that we really needed to do something, and quickly before the new baby arrived.

Last week our new kitchen was installed and I love it.  It's nothing too fancy but it's a million times better than it was before and I absolutely love it.  They layout had to stay the same but everything has been updated (we just need to replace a few splash back tiles which were damaged during removal of the old kitchen).  I have cupboards to store things, brand new sexy appliances and I am feeling so inspired to cook!  I also can't wait to get Ella involved in cooking.  I think it's really important, but also lots of fun and it's something that I am really looking forward to sharing with her.

I haven't really had an opportunity to do much this week, but tonight we made home made pizza's.  Ella was a brilliant little apprentice chef and after our masterpieces came out of the oven we had a little carpet picnic.  It was basically the first time that Ella had eaten pizza and she loved it!  Archie was keen for some too - he's never far away from Ella when there's food away!

It's a long weekend this weekend so I'm looking forward to getting in there and doing some serious baking.  Our humble backyard lemon tree is brimming with fruit which the cocky's had been attacking, so we pulled them off the tree today before they stole any more and I think we'll bake a nice lemon cake or slice as well as a few other sweet treats. Yum!

36 Weeks Pregnant

I know it sounds silly but the other day I looked at a calendar and started to freak out about how close I actually am to having this baby.  Sure, I know it's not far away and we've been counting down the weeks but seeing it on paper, just a few small boxes separated now and my due date and it was a little scary.

Don't get me wrong, I can't wait for this baby boy to come into the world and make us a family of four, but at the same time, everything is going so well at the moment that I am a little nervous about the changes that we are about to experience all over again.

We went through a bit of a rough patch with Ella a few months ago.  She was just being a normal toddler and expressing herself the only way she knew how, and in all reality I responded like a toddler and got angry and frustrated and made situations worse.  There was a lot of tension in the house and very little sleep.  Since then though, we seem have fallen into a beautiful rhythm and we all seem to be on the same page.

Now that Ella is able to communicate with us and she basically understands what we are trying to get across, everything is just... easier.  She's been so well behaved and such a joy to be around.   The tantrums have gone (mostly), tears don't come as often and her sleeping has improved so much.  She's learning so much so quickly and it's just a really fun stage of her growth.  This is probably the most comfortable I have been as a parent and I feel like I'm constantly smiling now, instead of constantly sighing and feeling like I am banging my head against a brick wall trying to teach her what is appropriate and what's not.

She's become so much more aware of feelings and is so affectionate right now, always hugging and kissing and hearing her say "wuv you mama" literally brings a tear to my eye.  I love the one on one time that we get to spend with each other.  She's always tugging at my tops so that she can kiss my belly or pat the baby.  She talks and hums to him in there and he responds by rolling around and she giggles when she feels the movement on her face.

In a matter of weeks though, the dynamics of our family will change.  The calm will go out the window.  I wonder how Ella will react to having a new person in the household.  I wonder how I will to be honest! I worry that I won't be able to give her the same one on one time that she is (we are, really) loving so much right now.  It will be a big change for everyone but I look forward to finding a new beautiful rhythm.  Our family of four.

****

I have been feeling physically well for this late stage in my pregnancy.  I'm not all that tired which I am surprised about, although I do lose my breath easily which is frustrating, especially when trying to keep up with Ella.

This little one is so different to Ella in utero.  With Ella I used to consciously try and count the number of kicks I felt, always worried that there wasn't enough movement in my tummy.  This time around, it's just constant and at any given point you can look at my stomach and see it rippling and contorting and quite frankly, it is quite painful, but that's my only complaint.

I had an appointment with my obstetrician yesterday and he said that everything is going really well.  Bubs is in position with head down, however his spine is against mine which is why it's limbs everywhere pushing out of my belly when he moves around.  I am still measuring slightly large so we are expecting another biggun!

My obstetrician is going on leave in a couple of weeks.  I knew this when we first visited him when we found out we were pregnant and we were aware that he may not actually be the one that delivers the baby when the time comes.  He has a great partner in the same office and I have no issue if he has to deliver my baby instead.  My obstetrician however said that because bubs is measuring quite large, he could potentially induce me early so that he could be present for the birth before he goes on leave.  I would be almost 39 weeks pregnant at that point - but he assured me that he would only do this if he thought it was completely safe to do so.  At the time I thought this seemed like a great idea but now that I've had time to mull over it I'm not so sure.  I feel funny tampering with things when really I should just let bub decide when he's ready.  We will have a big discussion at our appointment next week to discuss all the options and the pro's and con's of everything.  In reality though, I could give birth at any stage now!  Maybe he'll decide to come early anyway, unlike his sister who was ten days late.  We'll just have to wait and see and for now I'll just have to put up with pointy little elbows and a swift kick to the ribs every once in a while.